[NAGDU] list of guide dog commands and what they do

Fri Jun 23 23:19:08 UTC 2023

I love Touch!
My dog could be very close to me, but if I don't have a good handle on where he is, all I have to do is say Touch, and hold my fist out, and he comes right to it.

Susan & Topher

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sherry Gomes via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2023 6:09 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sherry Gomes <sherry.gomes at outlook.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] list of guide dog commands and what they do

My current guide is from Guiding Eyes, and they use two commands I hadn't heard of at my previous school, commands I love and use often. Close tells my dog to move right up to me, turn around and sit with her head facing out and between my knees. Or say at a store or restaurant, this command will tell her to come as close to me as she can in that setting. The other one is touch which is a command used with food. I'll put one piece of kibble in my fist, tell her touch, and then she should come, touch my fist with her nose. I give her the kibble immediately at that point. I use this for teaching, or to practice recall in a fun way, and sometimes to settle her down, if she's excited. She is mellow so not usually excited in ways that I can't stop if necessary with a simple verbal, that's enough, but I'll use touch as well.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Gretchen Brown via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2023 2:52 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Gretchen Brown <gretch99brown at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] list of guide dog commands and what they do

Josh, I do have a long list of commands, but I will only tell you the ones that come to mind. My dog is program trained, so when I say hop up, that means to either pay attention, or to get closer to a curb/obstacle. I also use steady to slow down focus, to pay attention, halt to stop, of course I also use find the and outside inside up, means to jump up onto the car seat, off means out of the car, or of the dog bed, etc. Also use the word place, which means for her to go to her specific place normally a dog bed.
Under which means to go under a table or object, settle, means to rest in the down position.  I also use wipe your paws which is to wipe her front paws when they are all muddy or dirty. I also have taught her to ring the bell when she needs to go outside if we are just hanging out at home, and also, I have taught her .  legs, which means to put her weight on my lap  for grounding. I have also taught her back which means  stan  Directly behind me. She also knows block which means to block in front of me, or behind me and circle, which means to go around my body when I am in a crowd to keep the crowd at a distance. A couple of fun ones I took her were how to kiss by touching her nose with my nose. And to shake, which is to shake off the dirt/water when entering a building. She also knows how to give me a poll, and can give me left or right pole accordingly. Aside from that she basically does all the other good work commands such as lift right forward straight, etc.  she was trained at Leader, and although she does not have training for the psychiatric dog tasks, such as blocking in crowds, grounding, etc., I have taught her those over the years. Also, my program does not use a clicker, we use the word yes to signify the dog is doing something correct. my program also use treat  training, and we also do  the basic obedience commands, and they also must wait to be released before they can eat their dinner. I am also working on whistle training my dog to come to the whistle. Gretchen

On Fri, Jun 23, 2023 at 3:15 PM Julie Johnson via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> This varies a bit from program to program and person to person.  I 
> owner train and while my list will be similar, it's meant to meet my 
> specific needs.
> Forward: means to move ahead, following any curves of less than 45 
> degrees, until a curb or obstacle is encountered
> Left/right: from a stopped position means for the dog to pivot 90 
> degrees in the indicated direction and continue moving in that 
> direction until a curb or obstacle is encountered Left left/right
> right: while moving the dog is to make a 90 degree turn at the next 
> most likely place Step up: means to take one step at a time closer to 
> something, used to move closer to a curb or obstacle. Also to move one 
> stair at a time if I'm having a difficult mobility day. I also use 
> step up to have a dog stand from a sit or down since they will have to 
> stand in order to take the one step forward Right about: a 180 degree 
> turn from a stationary position Find the: means to find the named 
> item, stairs, trash, empty chair etc.
> Inside/outside: means to find the door or other entrance to enter or 
> exit a building.  I do pair this with left left or right right Go
> around: used when the dog has stopped to show me an obstacle but 
> hasn't initiated figuring a way around. Usually I use this primarily 
> in the first couple of years, then the dog just automatically goes 
> around Hop up: means to load into the car, this one is very different 
> from how program teams use it, but dogs don't speak English.  You 
> could tell them to burrito if you wanted, so long as you paired the 
> word with the desired action.
> Straight: I use this to quite literally mean to move in a straight 
> line across a big open space like a parking lot, park or the like
>
> Easy: means to slow down and not to pull so hard To get the dog to 
> move faster I use a sound, not a word.
> Whoa: means to come to a stop
> My dogs are also taught to stop at the edge of the street 
> automatically with no command from me.  they also stop at the first 
> step up or down at a staircase automatically, at any obstacle unless 
> they can easily go around on their own this includes holes, drop offs, 
> overheads, ribbon barriers and anything else that prevents clear movement through the space.
> There are probably more, but that's all thats coming to mind for guide 
> commands.  Of course they also know to sit, down, stay, wait, come, go 
> to their place etc.
> Then there are all the things I call manners or living with people 
> skills.  This is things like appropriate relieving, chewing on 
> appropriate toys, staying out of the trash, not sniffing or jumping on 
> people in public and about 101 other things that dog's love to do that people find obnoxious.
>
> Julie
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jun 23, 2023, at 1:44 PM, Josh via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> >
> >
> > Does anyone have a list of guide dog commands, along with what the
> commands
> > tell the dog to do or how the dog reacts to them? Or is there such a 
> > list published online somewhere? If so, could you send them to me?
> > And also
> how
> > many commands to guide dogs respond to? I can't imagine a guide dog 
> > user having to memorise dozens and dozens of commands. Maybe 20 to
> > 25 at
> most.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> >
> >
> > Josh
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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